Online shopping has changed the face of the retail world. What with the current pandemic and people are told to stay at home, online shopping has become a common practice in most households.
I love online shopping. Even before the pandemic, I found it a hassle to go out to buy things, unless it was urgent.
Shopping online is easy and convenient.
The best thing is that you can find almost anything online, no matter how random or weird.
But sometimes, you come across items that are sold online with a (not so) “clear” description.
Recently, a posting about the sale of a chamber pot on American e-commerce platform Amazon went viral because it was referred to as an “enamel fruit basket” much to the amusement of the Chinese.
The item labelled as “Chinese Traditional Fruit Basket, Chinese Enamel Fruit Basket, Chinese Antique Kitchen Dining Table Decoration”, looked exactly like the potty my aunt used to have under the bed in her room many years ago.
The product even had pictures of the spittoon used to store bread, fruits and as an ice bucket.
The chamber pot with ducks painted on the sides was being sold on Amazon for US$49.99 (RM200).
These chamber pots are normally adorned with mandarin duck drawings or the double happiness decorations because these are normally presented as gifts for newlyweds.
In the olden days, people used chamber pots to relieve themselves (at night) or to spit into.
This was because during those days, toilets were located outside the house and going out at night would be inconvenient, and sometimes scary.
These pots are normally kept out of sight, such as under the bed to be used during the night. They are emptied the following day.
Hence, it was quite amusing that the product was sold on Amazon to store food.
But as humorous as it is, I believe there are “some” people who would actually buy it for the purpose as described on the e-commerce platform.
Perhaps, it should not be made a big deal due to cultural differences. As long as it is sold as brand new, it can be used to store anything or as a quirky decoration, no matter what this “enamel fruit basket” was originally used for.
They can call it whatever they fancy, but I cannot undo the fact that I know what this was used for during our forefathers’ time.
This is a potty, and a potty should never be used to store food.
And one that costs more than RM200?
I don’t think I can stomach it for something I know is used for pee-pee.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
